A North Kent councillor is pushing for a referendum on the proposed Community Hub in downtown Chatham, while simultaneously calling for the project to be scrapped.
Ward 4 Councillor Rhonda Jubenville submitted a notice of motion at the end of Monday night’s council meeting, requesting that council move forward with a referendum that would allow community members to vote on the future of the multi-year project.
The Community Hub project, if approved, would see the Chatham-Kent Civic Centre, CK Public Library and CK Museum amalgamated into the former Sears building in downtown Chatham.
Jubenville also submitted a separate notice of motion on Monday, which moves that administration cease all spending on the Community Hub project, and enact the buy-back policy of the deal to purchase the former Sears property, and instead renovate the current Civic Centre.
The projected total cost of the Community Hub project is estimated at $53 million, while the existing Civic Centre is currently in need of around $37 million in repairs.
During its next meeting on October 21, Chatham-Kent Council is already expected to vote on whether or not the project will move into its next phase, which includes finalizing detailed designs and hiring a project manager.
Jubenville’s motions will return to council at a future meeting that has yet to be specified.
Chatham-Kent Council agreed in January to purchase the Sears portion of the Downtown Chatham Centre at a cost of $2.95 million. Since then, the municipality has provided multiple opportunities for public engagement on the proposed Community Hub, including three public information sessions that were attended by over 300 residents. Two online public surveys were also conducted, as well as three stakeholder engagement meetings and several one-on-one meetings with local advisory committees and boards.
